School achievement of primary school children with type 1 diabetes mellitus in Baghdad

Abstract

Background: Children spend many hours a day at school and the overall goals for children in these settings are to maintain excellent glycemic control and minimize interruptions of their daily learning. The aim of current study was to assess the school achievement of primary schoolchildren with Type 1Diabetes Mellitus in Baghdad and identify the main factors affecting this achievement.Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of primary schools in Baghdad City selected by multistage cluster sampling. All primary school students in the selected schools were included. For every diabetic child, we selected a child from the same class who is free from diabetes. Information on school achievement, sociodemographic variables and disease history were obtained through interviewing the children and their parents. Poor performance was considered if the student had grade point average <5 point or skipping from school or number of days absent >10 days or had a school year repeated.Results: Diabetic group had significantly higher number of absenteeism days than non-diabetic group (P<0.001). Nearly, 30% of diabetics had poor school achievementcompared to only 1% of non-diabetics (P=0.001). Factors contributing topoor performance, as demonstrated by logistic regression analysis, were: student's age group ≥2 years (P=0.015), low mother education (P=0.049), family income <500,000 Iraqi dinars (P=0.032), weight for age <5 percentile (P=0.049) and follow up visits <4times/year (P=0.034). Conclusion: One third of diabetic children had poor school achievement. Poor quality of care was the most important modifiable risk factor. Regular follow up visits should be enhanced.